Educational puzzle game

ABSTRACT

A puzzle game of the geographical educational type is provided, comprising a plurality of different puzzles, with each puzzle having a plurality of pre-cut pieces, each with indicia therein, such that when the various pieces of a given puzzle are arranged together, it will display an aggregate geographical continental map area of the world. There are a plurality of such puzzles, each in its own box, with the boxes being arranged in an aggregate container or box, and are adapted to be selected from the aggregate container via removal from the aggregate container by means of a finger access opening for each box of puzzles.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

In the art of educational toys, it is known to make puzzles comprised of various pieces of irregular shapes, that fit together to display a picture. Frequently, the shapes of the various puzzle pieces are different one from the other, often without duplication. As one is using the puzzle, by looking at the pieces and trying to find appropriate pieces to inter-fit with other pieces, one's dexterity is challenged in varying degrees, depending upon the complexity of the puzzle. The developing picture that appears in stages, as various pieces of the puzzle come together can be used to provide a mental stimulation that aids in developing one's visualization skills.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is directed to providing a puzzle game of the educational type that is aimed at developing the player's knowledge of geography and specifically, world geography. The present invention also aids in developing one's visual spatial intelligence.

In accordance with this invention, there are provided a plurality of different puzzles, with each puzzle comprising a number of pieces with indicia on those pieces, such indicia representing different geographical map sub-areas of the world. The puzzle pieces are cut in various configurations to fit together to form a puzzle. When the pieces of each puzzle are arranged properly together, the puzzle displays a larger aggregate geographical map area of the world, such as for example, a continent, or at least a major portion of a continent.

Accordingly, it is a primary object that this invention to provide a puzzle game of the geographic educational type, comprising a plurality of different puzzles, with each puzzle having a number of pieces, and with each piece having a portion of a map area of the world, such that when the puzzle pieces of a given puzzle are arranged together, that puzzle displays a geographical continental map of a portion of the world.

It is another object of this invention to accomplish the above object, wherein a plurality of puzzles are provided, with each puzzle representing a different continental map area of the world.

It is a further object of this invention to accomplish the above objects, wherein the individual puzzles are provided in sub-boxes, and wherein the plurality of sub-boxes are, in turn, carried in an overall box.

It is another object of this invention to accomplish the above object, wherein the overall box that contains the sub-boxes of individual puzzles is provided with an open side for ready access of any give puzzle sub-box from the overall or aggregate box.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from a reading of the following brief descriptions of the drawing figures, the detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF DRAWINGS FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the overall box that is the container for various other boxes, with each of the other boxes or sub-boxes containing puzzle pieces for a different area of the world.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one of the puzzle boxes from FIG. 1, wherein the box of FIG. 2 shows that it is comprised of a box top and a box bottom, with a plurality of puzzle pieces therein.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of one the puzzles of this invention, with its various puzzle pieces assembled to form a puzzle that is essentially of the North American continent.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of one the puzzles of this invention, with its various puzzle pieces assembled to form a puzzle that is essentially of Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of one the puzzles of this invention, with its various puzzle pieces assembled to form a puzzle that is essentially of the European continent.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of one the puzzles of this invention, with its various puzzle pieces assembled to form a puzzle that is essentially of the African continent.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of one the puzzles of this invention, with its various puzzle pieces assembled to form a puzzle that is essentially of Asia, Asia Minor and of the Middle East.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of one the puzzles of this invention, with its various puzzle pieces assembled to form a puzzle that is essentially of the South Pacific geographic area referred to as Oceania.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of one the puzzles of this invention, with its various puzzle pieces assembled to form a puzzle that is essentially of the entire world, illustrating the various time zones of the world.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings in detail, reference is first made to FIG. 1, wherein the puzzle game of this invention is generally referred to by the numeral 10, as comprising an outer or overall or aggregate box 11 having a top 12, a bottom 13, right and left sidewalls 14 and 15, and a rear wall 16. The walls 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 are complete walls. The front wall 17 is comprised of a narrow band running adjacent the top wall 12, between sidewalls 14 and 15.

A handle 18 is provided in top wall 12, for carrying the puzzle game 10, with opposite ends of the handle 18, being engaged against the underneath of top wall 12 by means (not shown) via slots 20 and 21 in the top wall 12.

A plurality of individual puzzle sub-boxes, seven in number, are carried in the overall box 11, as shown in FIG. 1, accessible for placement into the box 11 and removable therefrom, via an open front wall beneath the front wall band 17 as shown.

Each of the puzzle boxes 22, 23 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 is provided with a finger access opening 30, as shown, for placement of one's finger into the puzzle box and sliding the selected one of the puzzle boxes 22-28 from the overall or aggregate box 11.

Each of the puzzle boxes 22-28 is provided with indicia indicating the geographical map area of the world that can be assembled from the puzzle pieces within that selected one of the puzzle boxes 22-28.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a typical puzzle box, such as that 24 is shown, comprising a box bottom 31 and a box top 32. Box top 32 is adapted to fit over box bottom 31.

Box bottom 31 has a bottom wall 33, front and rear walls 34, 35, respectively, a top wall 36, and a bottom wall (not shown).

Similarly, box top 32 has a top wall 37, a front wall 38, a rear wall (not shown), an upper wall 40, and a lower wall (not shown). The top wall 37 displays a map area 41 of the geographical continental map area that is displayed on puzzle pieces inside the box 24, when such puzzle pieces are assembled, in this case with the map area 41 indicated by box 24 representing the geographical continental map area essentially for the Asian continent.

Inside the box 24 there are contained a plurality of puzzle pieces 42, of various predetermined shapes, pre-cut in various configurations, such that, when assembled they will display the geographical continental map area shown on the top 37 of the box 24. When the box bottom 31 and box top 32 are closed, their front walls 34 and 28 respectively will be overlapped, and the finger holes 33, 34, will be aligned, to yield the finger access openings 30 shown in FIG. 1. The fronts 38 of the boxes 22-28 are aligned with the front wall portion 17 of the box 11, for accessing a given puzzle from the box 11.

It will be understood that each of the puzzle boxes 22-28 is comprised essentially as shown in FIG. 2, except that each one of the boxes 22-28 will have a different geographical continental map area of the world displayed on its top 41 and displayed on the puzzle pieces 42 contained therein when the puzzle pieces are properly arranged together.

With reference now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the various puzzle pieces 42 thereof are arranged to display the contents of box 23 to show the geographical continental map area essentially of North America.

With reference now to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the various puzzle pieces 42 thereof are arranged to display the contents of box 22 to show the geographical continental map area essentially of South America.

With reference now to FIG. 5, it will be seen that the various puzzle pieces 42 thereof are arranged to display the contents of box 27 to show the geographical continental map area essentially of Europe.

With reference now to FIG. 6, it will be seen that the various puzzle pieces 42 thereof are arranged to display the contents of box 26 to show the geographical continental map area essentially of Africa.

With reference now to FIG. 7, it will be seen that the various puzzle pieces 42 thereof are arranged to display the contents of box 24 to show the geographical continental map area essentially of Asia.

With reference now to FIG. 8, it will be seen that the various puzzle pieces 42 thereof are arranged to display the contents of box 25 to show the geographical continental map area essentially of Oceania.

With reference now to FIG. 9, it will be seen that the various puzzle pieces 42 thereof are arranged to display the contents of box 28 to show the geographical continental map area essentially of the twenty-four time zones of the world. Thus, in FIG. 9, the geographical continental map area is that of the entire world.

It will thus be seen that the various maps that are comprised of the puzzle pieces 42, and that are represented by the various FIGS. 3-9 have different indicia on the puzzle pieces, with such indicia in the aggregate, when the puzzle pieces are properly arranged together, to display an aggregate geographical continental map area of the world.

It will therefore be apparent from the forgoing that various modifications may be made in the details of construction, as well as in the various cuts that are used to form a given puzzle piece, all within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims in order to provide a challenging educational set of puzzles that is highly usable as a teaching aid, to teach the player a valuable geography lesson, so that the player can readily grasp an appreciation for the placement and sizes of the various significant geographical areas of the world, while also developing the player's visual spatial intelligence. 

1. A puzzle game of the geographic educational type, comprising a plurality of different puzzles: (a) with each puzzle comprising a plurality of pieces, each with indicia thereon, cut in various configurations, to fit together to form a puzzle; (b) with the indicia on the puzzle pieces representing different geographical map sub-areas of the world; and (c) with each puzzle, when its pieces are arranged together, it displays indicia that represents an aggregate geographical continental map area of the world.
 2. The puzzle game of claim 1, wherein a separate puzzle container of the box type is provided for each puzzle; with the puzzle pieces for each map puzzle being disposed in its associated puzzle container.
 3. The puzzle game of claim 2, wherein the separate puzzle containers are arranged in an aggregate container.
 4. The puzzle game of claim 3, wherein the aggregate container comprises a generally rectangular box with an open side and having a top, a bottom, and a plurality of other sides; wherein the separate puzzle containers are arranged adjacent each other in the aggregate container and are accessible to be withdrawn from the aggregate container through the open side.
 5. The puzzle game of claim 4, including a handle attached to the top of the aggregate container.
 6. The puzzle game of claim 4, wherein each separate puzzle container includes a box bottom with sides and a box top with sides; with the box bottom fitting inside the box top.
 7. The puzzle game of claim 4, wherein each separate puzzle container has a finger access opening in a box sidewall thereof; with each separate puzzle container being arranged in said aggregate container with the finger access openings aligned substantially co-planar with said open side of said aggregate container.
 8. The puzzle game of claim 7, including a handle attached to the top of the aggregate container, and wherein each separate puzzle container includes a box bottom with sides and a box top with sides; with the box bottom fitting inside the box top.
 9. The puzzle game of any one of claims 1-4, 6 and 7, wherein the different puzzles, when their respective puzzle pieces are arranged together, represent six different continental areas of the world.
 10. The puzzle game of any one of claims 1-4, 6 and 7, wherein an additional puzzle is provided, whereby, when its puzzle pieces are arranged together, it represents a map of the world with indicia of the various time zones of the world displayed thereon.
 11. The puzzle game of claim 9, wherein an additional puzzle is provided, whereby, when its puzzle pieces are arranged together, it represents a map of the world with indicia of the various time zones of the world displayed thereon.
 12. The puzzle game of claim 6, wherein each box top has indicia thereon representing substantially the same continental map area of the world as is represented by the indicia on the puzzle pieces disposed in that said box when the puzzle pieces in that said box are arranged together.
 13. The puzzle game of claim 9, wherein there are six puzzles with indicia thereon, representing the following six continental map areas of the world: North America South America Europe Africa Asia Oceania 